Rob Seabrook from George and Chris van der Merwe from Danabaai, who both work for the Garden Route Casino, successfully completed the venture and now they have a wealth of interesting stories to share.
The greatest lesson they both learned was respect for nature, the sea and the utmost respect for each other.
After their venture a much thinner and lovely tanned Rob and Chris cannot stop talking about the adventure that took them eight days and 230km in a double kayak around Zanzibar.
The guys decided to take their wives, Lynsay and Lynn and daughters Caryn and Kiona with them to Zanzibar, not to join in the adventure but to welcome them back afterwards.
They had no backup team and after the first night in a tent decided to rather try and stay at lodges or other accommodation. Everything they had was carried with them on the kayak.
They set off from Ras Nungwi on the northwestern side of the island.
After making a fire and preparing lunch in a mangrove the two set off again. As dark set in they realized that there was no moon and no beach for them to go ashore - only cliffs. At some time of rowing in the dark they found a beach and headed there. However the 20 locals were not very friendly and with hand gestures explained that they could not camp there. Finally the village chief let them stay and they set up camp.
Then came their first encounter with rough seas.
After battling the sea for a couple of hours they stopped at the Sea Cliff Hotel where the duty manager turned out to be a former staff member from the Garden Route Casino. He remembered Rob as the "kung fu expert".
All around the island they bumped into South Africans now living there.
"They were all friendly and helpful and gave us good advice on where and when to row and what to avoid," Rob said.
When they hit the 100km mark they decided to jump the kayak and snorkel and inspected the local sites in the middle of nowhere.
Late that afternoon they reached Kizim-kazi.
It was also here that Rob got food poising that nearly hijacked the rest of the trip. It is also here that they met Paul - a yoga instructor from Uganda.
Paul was the real deal, a throwback from the 60s and also the guy who nursed Rob back to health.
Then it was on to Jambiani (31km).
The next day was a scary sea crossing of 27km to Uroa Bay. By the time they hit land it was afternoon and they found the Uroa Bay Hotel, a well-run Italian place with great food and a variety of nationalities to mingle with.
At Pwani they were welcomed by a number of South Africans who had just climbed Kilimanjaro.
The next day they rowed around the northern point of the island back to Ras Nungwi.
And then it happened! The moment of glory was too big. To everyone’s applause they experienced their first capsize of the trip. The kayak was upside down and they were in the water crying with laughter.
"With a feeling of happiness and sadness we completed the last bit in silence as we each contemplated what this trip had given us," Chris added.
And what did they learn?
"It is what it is. If you have to get to the other side of the bay, you just need to do it," Rob said.
And will they do it again?
"Definitely," was the answer.
Zanzibar has a thriving tourism industry and the Masai, who are normally found in Kenya, have also found their way to the island. Here Rob is seen with one of the colourful local Masai.
(Article: Denise Lloyd)
